His Light Down A Dark Tunnel
by TheAmazingCharlieG
Summary: What if Bruce Wayne never met Selina after his parent's deaths, but instead met someone else? What if she was his light down that dark tunnel? Follow the adventures of young Bruce Wayne and Antoinette "Anne" Claire as they travel their life journey together.
1. Antoinette

Bruce slapped him. Right across the face.

"Do not speak ill of my mother." He spat in the face of Timmy.

"Oh really?" Tim pushed Bruce to the ground. He was about to kick him but someone stepped in front of Bruce. Between Bruce and Tim.

"Back off Timothy." The figure said. It was a girl. Bruce couldn't see her very well, but he saw that she was African-American, with a caramel complexion, with bouncy brown curly hair with a silver lock.

"Get out of the way Anne." Tim tried to push past her but she stood her ground.

"No. You know Tim, you are _such_ a bully. Can't you see this boy has been traumatized enough?" she was poking a white finger nail at Tim's chest angrily with one hand on her hip.

Tim opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the girl.

"You know what? I don't care about what you have to say. Get out of my sight before I do something I necessarily _won't_ regret." She hissed.

Tim looked down at Bruce, who was still on the ground then back at the girl.

"We'll settle this later, pint-size." He glared at Bruce and he and his posse walked away.

The girl turned toward Bruce and kneeled to extend her arm. "Hey, you alright?" she asked as he took her hand and she pulled him off the ground.

He let go of her hand and dusted himself off.

"Just perfect." He said sarcastically, which was unusual for him.

The girl let out a soft chuckle and she put her hand out again, and Bruce shook it.

"Heh, I'm Antoinette, but everyone calls me Anne or Annie." She said.

"Bruce. Bruce Wayne." He smiled a little and she smiled back.

"Uh… thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"Of course. Just helping a friend." She winked and looked down at her watch.

"Crap. I can't be late for chem again." She said and started walking away.

"Hey, wait!" Bruce called before she could get far.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Uh… would you… would you like to have lunch with me today?" he asked kind of shyly.

She gave him a soft but vibrant smile. "Sure. Wouldn't miss it." She smiled and she was on her way.

Bruce stood dumbfounded about what had just happened.

* * *

><p>Bruce sat on the edge of the fountain of the school, eating his lunch.<p>

"Hey, Bruce." He heard what he thought was an angelic voice coming toward him.

"Is Tim your boyfriend?" Bruce blurted accidentally. He wanted- no needed to know.

Anne stared at him for a second. Suddenly she began laughing.

"Ew. No. That idiot?" she laughed as she stood up with her apple and threw it in the trash.

"Why'd you throw your apple away?" Bruce asked. Anne sat back down next to him.

"Filled with questions, aren't you? Well, I have a severe allergic reaction to the acids that an apple contains. It's pretty rare." She said and Bruce nodded and his lips made and 'o' shape.

A tiny locket escaped from Anne's gray polka dot satchel and Bruce picked it up. When he opened it, Bruce saw a picture of a little girl, maybe six on one side and a boy on the other maybe sixteen.

Anne slowly took the locket out of Bruce's hand.

"That's my brother Avery. He's the only relative I have left." She said sadly while looking at her locket.

"I…I don't have any other relatives. It's just Alfred and I." he said quietly looking down.

Anne quietly scooched closer to him. "I'm sorry for your loss Bruce." She hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't flinch away.

"Me too…" he said.

"Both of my parents died in a car collision. Neither Avery nor I were there." She said.

It was Bruce's turn to put a hand on her shoulder.

Anne saw the tear drop before she felt it. She looked down at her knees to hide them from Bruce.

_Stop being sorry for yourself, Anne. _She thought to herself and sighed and stopped crying.

She decided to change the subject. She got out her shiny red notebook and scribbled something down. She then neatly tore it out and folded it neatly and gave it to Bruce.

"My number. And address. I'm sure Avery would love to meet you." She stood up and began walking away.

"Where you going?"

Anne held out her hand and counted backwards from 5. When she got to one, the school bell rang and she winked.

_How does she do it?_ Bruce thought to himself as he rushed the opposite direction to class.


	2. How to Conquer Fears 101

Anne had certainly become Bruce's best friend over the past month, but he hadn't seen her for a week and a half, and he began to worry about her.

"Alfred, please take me to this address" Bruce handed Alfred the paper that Anne had given him months ago.

"May I ask why, Master Bruce?"

"To see a friend." He answered simply and sat in the car.

Bruce looked out the window silently through-out the entire ride. He was so lost in thought, that he didn't even notice that the car had stopped moving.

"Master Bruce, we have arrived at our destination."

Alfred opened the door and Bruce stepped out to admire the complex yet simple white house that stood in front of him.

He walked carefully toward the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited. When there came no answer, he rang again. This time he knocked on the door. Still, there was no answer.

He turned around, preparing to take his leave; Alfred had the car door open.

Bruce heard the door behind him creak open, and he turned around to see Anne standing in the frame wearing all black. Black blouse, black pencil skirt, black Mary Janes. He saw black tear streaks on her cheeks from her mascara; even her nail polish was black.

"Anne…" Bruce said and she closed her eyes.

"Bruce…" she said below a whisper.

She stepped to the side allowing Alfred and Bruce entry.

"Your house is lovely miss." Alfred said keenly, despite the hundreds of boxes scattered across the place.

"Thank you, sir. You must be Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce speaks so highly of you." She wiped away her mascara tear stains on her cheeks before shaking his hand.

"My name is Antoinette. But please call me Anne." she said.

"Anne, what's going on? Why haven't you been in school?" Bruce asked.

Annie sat on the couch and gestured for them to sit across from her.

"Bruce… I just went to my own brother's funeral. I just played… at Avery's funeral. He was shot in a drive by, and now I'm left relative-less because of some-"

"Some punk with a gun." Bruce finished her sentence.

"H…How did you know what I was going to say?" she asked.

"Because I was in the same situation."

Anne's breath caught before she continued her story. "Now that Avery's gone, there's no one to take custody of me. So that means I'm going to a foster home. That's why there are boxes everywhere."

Everyone was silent until Bruce spoke up.

"Maybe…maybe you can stay with us. Or at least until we find someone to take you in."

"That's preposterous. Surely I'd be intruding upon your family and home."

"No you wouldn't be. And it's kind of lonely in the manor. It'd be nice to have another kid my age around there. Alfred?"

Alfred thought for a moment.

_She is indeed a charming young lady. _He thought. Finally he came to a decision.

"I will talk to the detective."

"Thank you so much." Anne said almost happily.

"Anne…you said you played at Avery's funeral. What did you mean?" Bruce asked.

Anne sat for a moment but then stood and took a black case from one of the cardboard boxes on the floor. She took out a white violin. It said 'Lucille' in gold writing.

"My mother gave it to me. Her name was Lucille. I did…this…after she died to honor her." she said.

"I didn't know you played an instrument…"Bruce said.

Anne let out a soft chuckle.

* * *

><p>Antoinette had been living with Bruce and Alfred for two weeks now. Despite everything, she was actually enjoying it.<p>

"Good morning, Alfred!" she walked into the kitchen at 7:15, beaming.

"Well good morning, Madame Anne. " Anne giggled at Alfred.

"May I assist you upon making breakfast, sir? I would love to surprise Bruce. Well the both of you. I used to cook for Av-"

She stopped talking for a second, but then her soft smile returned.

"Well of course. Ah but would you mind fetching some more mushrooms from the basement pantry?"

"Aye, Aye captain!" she saluted and made her way down the basement stairs toward the pantry.

She began humming one of her favorite songs. After a few moments of looking for the pantry, she finally located it and found the mushrooms.

She elevated from humming to singing.

"What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you..." she sang almost flawlessly.

She walked past a lighted open space.

"What am I supposed to say when-"

She let out a very short high pitched shriek.

"What the heck, Bruce!" she yelled at Bruce who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with a tarantula crawling on his shoulder.

She put a hand over her mouth.

"What are you _doing_?!"

"Training. Don't scream. It will bite me." He hushed her.

"If you get hurt, I will _kill_ you." She crossed her arms.

She saw him smirk just a little and immediately her anger dissipated.

"C'mon. It's almost time for breakfast." She said.

"Hand me that box." He said and the spider was now on his lap.

She put down the container of mushrooms in her hand and kneelt to pick up the box next to Bruce.

"Why couldn't it have been snakes?" she asked worriedly. Then she heard a hiss and the spider jumped from Bruce's leg onto her hair.

Anne didn't scream, but she dropped the box and covered her mouth.

"Oh my god… Oh my god Bruce… _Get. It. Off_." She hissed the last part.

Bruce slowly grabbed the box and a mouse by the tail.

"Is that a mouse? This _thing_ eats mice?!" she whisper yelled.

Bruce waved the mouse in front of the tarantula. It stared at it longingly before it crawled down the side of Anne's face.

Anne squeezed her eyes shut and pursed her lips.

"Bruce…" she whimpered hardly opening her mouth.

"Got it!" he yelled as he slammed the box shut.

"Are you okay?"

"Never better." He could hear the heavy sarcasm, crystal clear.

"I'm… sorry about the spider." He held up the box and looked at it sadly.

Anne put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. It's alright. At least it didn't bite me." She offered him a nice smile.

"C'mon." she spun on her heel and began back upstairs, Bruce in close tow.

"So… I heard you singing. You really good." He attempted to strike up conversation.

"Heh. Thanks Bruce. My mom taught me. I guess." She smiled as she looked back at Bruce.

When they reached the top stair, Bruce and Anne parted ways. Anne to the kitchen, and Bruce upstairs to his room.

"Ah Miss Anne, I began to worry." Alfred said when she had entered the room.

Anne laughed. "Uh… I just got a little lost." And with that she took over. She put her hair up in a messy bun and cooked. When she finished, she could tell she blew both Alfred and Bruce away.

"Well… this is… flawless." Alfred savored every bite.

"Delicious." Was all that Bruce could get out after taking a bite.

Anne curtsied. "Thank you." And she sat down to eat.

"Ah, Master Bruce, there is a charity ball you must attend tonight. You must also attend Miss Anne." Alfred spoke.

Anne sat quietly for a second and put down her fork. "Like… a dancing ball?" she asked.

"That's what a ball, is Annie." Bruce said.

Anne opened her mouth to say something, but it quickly clamped shut.

"E-Excuse me." She stood up, straightened her gray skirt and swiftly and wordlessly escaped to her room.

* * *

><p>Neither Bruce nor Alfred had seen Anne for the rest of the day.<p>

Alfred knocked on her door. A soft "Come in" sounded from the other side of the door and he opened it. He saw her in a long black scoop neck flounce dress, white wedges, and a silver hairpiece to match her silver lock of hair that was tied up in a tight bun.

She was sitting at her desk, looking in a mirror and frowning.

"Miss Anne…" she turned in her chair to look at Alfred.

"We are ready to take our leave when you are."

"I'm ready Alfred…" she stood and said.

"You look beautiful by the way, Miss Anne."

"Thanks Alfred." She said down-ly.

"Is there something bothering you, Miss Anne?"

"No. Not at all." She played it cool and gave him the best beaming smile she could muster up.

She followed him downstairs, making sure not to step on her dress.

Bruce was staring up at her in awe. She was beautiful.

HE cleared his throat. "Ahem. You look very pretty Anne." He said, and she was now standing next to him.

"Right back at'cha, pretty boy." She said, trying to sound normal, but she ended up squeaking a little.

He gave her his charming soft chuckle and she loosened a little bit.

**And so they left for the ball.**

"Miss Janette, this is the new addition to our family." Alfred directing a short woman with dirty blonde hair, maybe thirty or forty.

"Hello. My name is Antoinette. But everyone calls me Anne." She shook the older woman's hand.

"A pleasure. My name is Janette Vaan."

Anne wandered all over the place, bored. Finally, she found the person that she really needed to talk to.

"Detective?" she tapped his shoulder lightly and he turned around.

"Hello Anne. I'm sorry for your loss." He said, acknowledging her brother, Avery.

"Thank you detective. Also thank you for letting me stay at the Wayne home. That was very generous of you." She said.

"Anything to make a child to feel at home. By the way, how do you like it so far?"

He asked.

"It's wonderful. Thank you for asking."

"Uh… where pray tell is Mr. Pennyworth?"

"Um… I believe he's right… there." She pointed over the balcony to Alfred.

She went back downstairs. She grabbed a glass of water and sat next to Bruce in front of the dance floor.

"You know… I've never been to one of these in my life." She said.

"Never?"

"Never."

Suddenly Bruce stood up to face her. He put his hand out.

"Would you care to dance?" he asked.

She looked at him with an emotion that he could not place right away. Nervousness? No. Fear.

"I…" her voice trailed off.

Bruce still had his hand out.

"…Can't." she rushed out of the room.

"Annie, wait!" he called after her. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you waiting for, boy? Go after her!" It was Alfred. He nodded and sought out to find Antoinette.

He found her pacing in an empty room.

"Anne, what's wrong?" she didn't answer. She kept pacing.

"Anne, have I offended you in some way?" she put her hands on her red cheeks then over her bronze gold eyes.

"Anne…"

"_I CANT DANCE, OKAY_?!" she yelled.

"Anne, why didn't you just tell me?"

"I don't know." They stood there for a few second more.

Suddenly, Bruce grabbed Anne's hand and pulled her toward the dance floor.

"Bruce!_ What are you doing_?!" she hissed. By the time she finished her sentence, they had reached the floor. Bruce put her left hand on his right shoulder and he held the other with his left hand. When he put his right hand on her waist, she tensed up a little, but then let it go.

"Teaching you how to dance." He said and she didn't pull away.

"Follow my lead." He whispered and they danced.

After a few minutes, Anne began to get it. She was enjoying it.

"I guess we both conquered fears today."

* * *

><p><strong>Hallelujah I'm finished with this chapter! I'm open to ideas. Any ideas. Because I have no idea what I'm going to do next. Oh well. Auf Wiedersehen. Charlie out.<strong>


	3. Run

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, school is killing me. So this is just what my version of the fall finale. So yeah, I'm not using Copperhead. Focused on Bruce and Anne's perspective and a bit of Alfred's. No Jim.

Anne sat cross legged on her bed across from Bruce with a French textbook in her hands.

"Mon nom est Anne, votre nom est Bruce. Translate" she instructed him.

"Um… My name is Anne, your name is Bruce?" he guessed.

Antoinette had promised to teach Bruce how to speak French if he, in exchange, had taught her how to dance. Mainly ballroom. She was less embarassed about it now.

"Great job, hot shot." She awarded him with her sweet smile that Bruce longed for- but he wouldn't tell her that.

"Oh I'm the hotshot" Bruce chuckled, trying to keep it cool. She laughed at his comment.

'Her laugh is gorgeous… just like her.' Suddenly, Bruce felt himself falling for his best friend.

"Okay." She said, still smiling. "Repeat after me. Je te aime." She motioned for him to repeat what she said.

Bruce struggled in languages. He was never good at Spanish, Chinese was just a jumble of words to him, and French was just confusing. So he hadn't really known what 'Je te aime' meant.

"Je…te…ai-" he was cut off by the front door closing and Alfred conversing with someone who sounded frantic.

The pair sat and listened for a second before Anne stood hastily, grabbed Bruce's hand, and pulled him downstairs.

When the foyer came into view, all Anne could characterize about the person was that she was female, tall, and Caucasian. Her facial features were very familiar to Antoinette, but because she was wearing a head scarf, she could not place her.

"My car was ran off the road." She whimpered as Alfred helped her in. once the woman was inside the house, she got a glimpse the children on the stair way. When her eyes landed on Anne's, they stayed, making Anne, Alfred, and Bruce increasingly uneasy. Her eyes were a deep green. But there was something hiding behind that plastered on fear…

Suddenly, her frown faded and was quickly replaced by an evil looking grin. Alfred noticed quicker than Anne or Bruce had.

The woman slowly pulled off her hair scarf to reveal a short blonde pixie cut with red highlights. Her evil grin increased.

"…Natalie?" Anne gasped. Shivers ran down her spine.

The woman took a gun from her purse.

"Run. Run!" Alfred, jumping into action, threw a punch at Natalie, whose coat had been shaken off revealing a black cat suit and black knee high hell boots. She fell to the ground with a grunt. She kicked Alfred's ankle, making him fall to the ground. She leaned for the gun and shot at the kids but Anne pulled Bruce up the stairs just in time.

Anne pulled Bruce into her room and locked the door. "Get in the closet." She said, her breath catching. Bruce did as he was told and Anne followed, closing the door behind her.

She grabbed a stool from the corner of the closet and put it in the middle of the closet.

"Bruce, give me that box." She said almost frantically. Bruce gave her the box she was referring to, and she opened it and retrieved a small pin and a bobby pin. She began picking the lock to the ceiling hatch.

"Anne, what are you doing?" Bruce whispered.

"Come on, come on…" she mumbled to herself as she picked the lock. Finally, there was a small 'click' and Anne popped the lock and opened the door. She helped Bruce out first, then climbed out herself.

As soon as she was out, Bruce grabbed her hand and they ran towards the end of the roof.

"Wait… what about Alfred?" Bruce stopped and asked.

"Bruce, I'm absolutely positive that Alfred will be able to defend himself, because he is a fighter. We have to go before Natalie catches up to us!" she exclaimed before grabbing his hand and running toward the edge.

"…We have to jump." Bruce mumbled. Anne hesitated but nodded.

"One...two…three!" he exclaimed as they jumped and landed in the pool.

Bruce helped Anne out from the deep side because he knew that she couldn't swim very well. When she finished hacking, they began running toward the gate. Gunshots were heard, and one hit the tree in front of them. Anne let out a short scream.

Another gunman stepped from the bushes and held his gun in front of Anne's head. She put on a brave face and closed her eyes. Bruce squeezed her hand. Suddenly, she kicked the gun from his hand, then kicked him again in the face, making him fall backwards. Anne ducked, pulling Bruce down with her as the man swung, missing them both. Anne quickly grabbed the pistol off the ground and shot the man in the knee, earning a very loud yelp of pain. Anne swiftly hook kicked him, rendering him unconscious.

"Bruce! Take her! Run!" Alfred screamed.

Bruce pulled Anne as she slid on the wet grass to collect the gun that she had just dropped. They ran past the gates and into the woods.

Once they had gotten far enough into the woods, they began to walk. Anne tucked the pistol inside her belt inside her sweater.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked, referring to the gash on her calf from falling on a rock moments before.

"Yeah. You?" she asked as she sat on some vegetation to tear some fabric from her leggings to wrap around her leg. When she lifted her leg, she winced.

Bruce kneelt down next to her so she could rest her leg on his lap so she could gauze it.

"I'm fine. Anne, where'd you learn how to fight like that?" he inquired. She stopped wrapping for a second.

"Avery. He was good. He taught me just in case I came across trouble that words couldn't fix… like this occasion." She replied.

"Which brings me to my second question." Bruce sat down fully, with her leg still on his lap. "Who were they?"

Anne put down the fabric. "Natalie. She was my brother's girlfriend. Until… she killed him." She spoke the last part quietly.

"I thought your brother was killed in a drive by." Bruce said.

"That's what I thought, too. Until I did some snooping and found "top secret" files on the murder case." She quoted top secret with her fingers as if to mock it.

"Avery was a spy. He was a double spy. When one side found out what he was doing, they sent their top assassin spy to kill him: Natalie. The police covered it up to look like a drive by." She said before she finished gauzing her leg. Bruce didn't ask her any more questions. He just helped her off the ground.

"Thank you." She said.

"You know, Anne… you saved my life dozens of times today. I believe I should be thanking you." Bruce said modestly. (Anne loved that about him)

She sighed. "Bruce. You saved me the day I first met you." She said before engulfing him in a soft hug. Because he was so surprised, it took Bruce time to actually hug her back. "Thank you." She sounded as if she were kind of crying. When she pulled away, she wiped her few tears away with her sleeve.

"Okay," she sighed. "I think I know a place where we can lay low."

"Fish, I need your help." Harvey Bullock sat in front of Fish Mooney asking her for help about Anne and Bruce.

"Why should I help you?" she asked before crossing her arms.

"Because there are two very young lives at stake here. There's someone targeting them." Alfred cut in.

"And who are you?" she asked the old man.

Alfred stood straight. "Alfred Pennyworth, miss." He said. Fish's eyes lit up.

"Ahh. The Wayne's butler." Fish stood up.

"Please. You will be rewarded for your services." Alfred pleaded. Fish smirked. She liked to see people beg.

"Alright. I'll help." She said as she sat back down across from Harvey.

"Have you seen this kid?" he held a picture of Anne up.

"Well," Fish exclaimed folding her arms. "That looks like Avery's little sister."

"How do you know Miss Claire's brother?" Alfred asked.

"Oh he used to work for me. He was my little spy. Well until he was discovered. They threatened to have his family killed if they ever caught him snooping again." She sat back in her chair. "I guess they caught him. His funeral was last month."

"So they covered it up to look like a drive by." Bullock said.

Fish nodded.

"So the assassins that killed Avery are out to get Anne?" Alfred inquired.

"I'm guessing so. She is the only other living witness besides me, and they already tried it." She answered.

"Let's go. Thanks Fish."

"Change. Don't tell anyone your real name." she thrust some close into his hands. "I'll be right back." She said as she picked up her own new pile of clothes.

They both changed and emerged in street clothes.

Anne wore a pair of gray converse, skinny jeans, a black shirt, and a purple cardigan and belt (With the pistol tucked in), with a black beanie to cover her hair, especially her silver lock. Bruce was wearing a pair of royal blue converse, jeans, and a gray sweatshirt.

"Where are we?"

"This is where all the street kids hang out. I came here all the time when Avery wasn't home or was at work." They walked past a group of kids.

"Annie?" someone asked in a suspicious tone.

"Anne stopped walking and slowly turned around.

"Kandy…" Anne mumbled spitefully. The girl had short spiky blond hair with black highlights and a nose ring. She had blue eyes.

"Look who it is, Kurt!" the short girl called to her identical twin brother who looked exactly like her. Same hair, same nose ring, same eyes.

"Well if it isn't little trouble." Kurt cracked his knuckles.

"What did you do?" Bruce whispered from behind her.

"They think I'm responsible for getting them sent to juvenile hall because I was the only one who didn't go." She whispered back.

"That call for a little pay back, doesn't it boys?" several other boys came to stand beside Kandy and Kurt.

"Kurt, you're well aware that that wasn't my fault. Kandy, maybe we can talk about this." Anne stepped back.

One of the boys swung at Anne, but she carefully dodged it. "Or not." She mumbled as she unclasped her watch. She tossed it to Bruce.

"Don't break it." She warned as she took a boxing stance.

Bruce made a mental note of her bravery and realized why she gave him her watch. He put it around his knuckles.

Another boy swung at Anne and she ducked before punching him in the face.

Boys were coming at Bruce and he was punching at them with his watch-knuckles.

Kandy scratched Anne across the face, causing her to bleed a little. Anne scratched her back, returning the favor. Kandy threw a punch and Anne caught it, slid between Kandy's legs with her hand flipping Kandy over. Kandy kicked her in face, getting up. A series of punches and scratches followed. Kandy appeared to be winning until Anne ended up spin kicking her in the face, breaking her nose.

"Ugh. I broke a nail." She wiped the blood from her lip and cheek as she looked down at the unconscious Kandy.

Bruce was also wiping blood from his face.

"Kandy!" Kurt rushed to his sister's side, discovering her state. "Oh, you asked for it!" he growled. Anne grabbed Bruce's bloodied hand and ran. Kurt and two other boys gave chase.

Anne pulled Bruce up s flight of stairs into a storage locker. They hid behind a large cabinet.

She put a finger to her lips and silently shushed him as the door slammed open and closed.

"Oh Annie… come out come out where ever you are…we brought friends…" she heard Kurt's eerie voice.

"Bruce, run." She whispered. "They want me. Not you."

"No. Not without you." He whispered back.

Anne closed her eyes and let out a loud sigh. Suddenly, she leaned in to kiss Bruce on the cheek before mouthing 'stay here', which took him by total surprise. Anne looked around the corner and saw that everyone had left except the new addition to the room: Natalie.

Out of nowhere, Bruce sneezed.

"Come out, where I can see you!" Natalie yelled.

Bruce hesitated at first before standing up with his hands behind his head. Natalie pointed a gun at him. "Tell me where your little girlfriend is, or I blow your brains out." She threatened.

Bruce didn't say anything. He didn't acknowledge that Anne wasn't his girlfriend. Natalie cocked her gun.

Anne cringed before standing up on the other side of the room.

"Let him go, Natalie. It's me you want, not him. If you let him go… I'll go down without a fight. That's a promise." Anne put her hands up.

Natalie let out a chuckle. "But why would I do that? This way I can kill two birds with one stone…" she said, darkly.

Anne sighed dramatically before she swiftly jumped to catch the pipe above her head. She swung her feet to kick Natalie in the face. She fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Two can play that game, Nat." Anne hopped down from the pipe.

When Natalie stood up, she reached for her gun. Anne swung out her pistol before Natalie could even take hers out.

"Oh so you remember me, my dear Annie?" Bruce now noticed the English accent Natalie carried.

"Avery loved you. And you killed him" Anne's face was cold. She cocked her gun.

"Anne, you don't have to do this…" Bruce said.

"She'll kill you if I don't."

Suddenly, the door to the storage locker slammed open.  
>"GDP!" four or five police men rushed in.<p>

Natalie, seeing this as a distraction to the two children, whipped out her gun. Anne was quick enough to see this and they both shot at the same time.

Anne dropped the pistol as Natalie collapsed, lifeless.

"Master Bruce, are you alright?" Alfred rushed to the frazzled Bruce. He nodded unbelieving.

Anne didn't notice Detective Gordon shaking her shoulder. "Anne. Are you okay?" she didn't hear him. All she heard was a faint buzzing sound. She felt light headed. Then she collapsed. Jim caught her and rested her on floor.

"Anne? Anne!" Bruce came next to her. Blood began seeping from her waist through her cardigan.

"Call an ambulance!" Gordon yelled and applied pressure to the wound. Her eyes started watering.

"Anne look at me okay?" Bruce stuttered, directing her to look at him. Her big brown crying eyes blinked as he clasped his hand with hers.

"You'll be okay…"


End file.
